Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and wish him every success in his new brief. Hopefully, he will bring a fresh face and a fresh approach to many of the problems, in particular this one. There is an old maxim in law that justice delayed is justice denied. In this case, justice has been denied to these people.

Somebody asked me maybe two years ago why the State would not do something emphatic about this situation, namely, either send these people back to their original homes, which may not be feasible or would probably be totally improper at this late stage, or let them stay here. When I was a Government Deputy and a Government Senator, I was lambasted, in particular by members of the Labour Party, following inward migration and people looking for asylum and so on in the late 1990s. Around 1995, there was a trickle of people coming into this country. As a nation, we are historically known for outward migration and for travelling to different parts of the world.

This became a serious issue and there were queues and so on. Instead of the number being a couple of hundred per year, it was at one stage 1,300 or 1,400 per month. The number has eased off but it is absolutely appalling that people who are here for a long time are not being dealt with compassionately, sympathetically and fairly.

My party, Fianna Fáil, supports the motion and shares a number of the concerns surrounding the policy of direct provision, in particular excessively long waiting times when an asylum application is made. It is clear there is a significant problem surrounding the length of time a person spends in direct provision. It is important to put the following facts on the record. Currently, 46% of residents are there for three years or more. A further 14% have been there for seven years or more. This is clearly unacceptable, in particular for children whose early years are being impacted by the unsuitable living conditions of the direct provision facilities for families.

My party also sought to pass legislation in 2010, the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, which allowed for a new single integrated process of application for protection which would replace applications for refugee status, subsidiary protection and leave to remain. This legislation, unfortunately, has not yet been implemented. The Department of Justice and Equality has stated that the main factor that contributes to that upward trend is the length of time taken in the protection-humanitarian leave determining process, including legal proceedings. Another factor affecting the time delay is the lack of a single application process for asylum. At this stage, putting forward these positions is no longer an excuse.

According to the RIA's annual report for last year, by the end of 2013, 68.2% of RIA residents had first claimed international protection in Ireland three or more years previously. The percentage in 2012 was 59.4%. The report also reveals that 148 child protection referrals were made to the HSE last year by the RIA's child and family services unit which was notified of 182 incidents. Most were reported by the relevant centre's designated liaison officers while 24 were third party referrals, such as by the HSE or teachers. By contrast, the RIA received just six official complaints from asylum seekers throughout the country, four of which were upheld, which is a substantial ratio.

I am sure the Minister of State is well aware of them and I urge him to take them into account. Last year, 4,360 people were living in 34 direct provision centres. The figure was 10% lower than the figure in 2012 and 2013 was the fifth year in a row that the direct provision population had decreased. It is not the case, therefore, that the issue is snowballing. The report also reveals that the number of people spending long periods in direct provision is increasing. The average length of stay is 48 months, with 1,686 residents having spent a minimum of five years in the system. Of these, 604 have been in direct provision for seven years or more, which is an appalling statistic.

The average time spent in the asylum seeker system, at 52 months, is longer still. In Mosney, 53% of the 600 residents have been in direct provision for at least 60 months, while one quarter of 236 residents in the State-owned facility in Athlone have been living there for 84 months or more. The Athlone facility, the only centre in the State that is comprised of mobile homes, does not have a crèche, despite accommodating 50 children aged four years or younger and another 75 children aged between five and 12 years. Of the residents in the Ocean View direct provision centre in County Waterford, 31% have been in direct provision for a minimum of 72 months. Last year, expenditure on the 26 commercially-owned direct provision centres amounted to €45.7 million, which is an appalling waste of money. This funding could be put to better use.

I concur with previous speakers that we must grasp the nettle and deal with this issue sooner rather than later. We become worked up and worried about Irish people living in the United States, Canada and other countries, some of them illegally. They can work, socialise and send their children to school unlike asylum seekers living in our direct provision system. As a society, we should be appalled by this. We must place on record our view that this disgraceful position should not be allowed to continue. It is a festering sore and I urge the Minister of State and Government to deal with it swiftly and give the individuals in question their rights. As the previous speaker argued, an amnesty is required and the waiting lists for decisions must be eliminated. People must be moved out of the appalling conditions in which they live and the children in question must be afforded the rights Bunreacht na hÉireann confers on our own citizens. I hope the Minister of State will take heed of the virtually unanimous view of the House. Senators are unhappy with the current position.